San Francisco celebrates the 75th anniversary of Coit Tower, a city landmark that was built atop Telegraph Hill in 1993 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco.

She came to San Francisco as a child in 1851 and after an unhappy marriage she lived in Europe for many years, but returned to San Francisco in the 1920s. She died in 1929 at age 86, leaving one-third of her estate to San Francisco to beautify the city.

Built for $115,000, the art deco tower designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard has become a San Francisco icon.

Crowds of visitors took the elevator to the top for fantastic views of San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Alcatraz, Pier 39, Angel Island, Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge, Russian Hill, the Financial District and Lombard Street. The tower offers the best view in San Francisco.

More than 2.3 million people visit the city each year and the tower is a "must-see" because it is a symbol of the city.

At the ceremony, Mayor Gavin Newsom talked about some of the tower’s myths, adding that the tower has become a symbol of hope because it was built during the depths of the Great Depression. In the tower are murals of labor, street scenes and images showing brokers worrying about a collapse of stock prices. "This was part of the revival and rebirth ... not only of our great city, but of the state and the nation" Mayor Gavin Newsom said.